Flake ice maker



Dec. 1, 1964 T. KATTIS 3,159,010

FLAKE ICE MAKER Filed July 27, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I" I' l Ifl'Errl HNvEN-rcm In THEODORE KATTIS my WQM 'ArTuRNEY Dec. 1, 1964 KATTls 3,159,010

FLAKE ICE MAKER Filed July 2'7, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 i i JINVENTEH: THEIJD-D E KAITTIS QLMQQ m'r on NEY United States Patent 3,159,010 BLAKE TCE MAKER Theodere Kattis, 122i) M St, Bradford, Ind. Filed July 27, 1962, Ser. No. 212,816 6 Gains. (ill. 62--354) This invention relates to a machine for making ice in the. form of flakes. By flakes is meant a piece of ice which may be in various sizes such as one quarter by one quarter square inches up to three quarters by three quarter square inches, and varying in thickness from around one thirty-second of one inch to one sixteenth of one inch. These dimension are given merely as illustrations of the possible sizes, it being possible to make the ice of larger or even smaller particles if desired.

The machine is intended to be used primarily in coin operated beverage vending machines wherein ice is automatically vended to be added to the vended drink. However, the machine can of course be used as an ice maker in restuarants, bars, homes, and the like wherein the ice may be stored in a bin and manually scooped out as desired.

The machine embodying the invention consists fundamentally of a refrigerated cylinder fixedly mounted on a vertical axis and located within and approximately concentric of a water tank wherein a constant water level is maintained, and ice forms around the periphery of the cylinder. A vertically extending ice removing bar is revolved around the cylinder and removes the formed ice in the form of flakes, and in this process, also conveys the flakes to and up an inclined chute leading from the tank to discharge the flakes from the upper end of the chute.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a machine which is extremely simple in its construction, and in its operation requiring normally a small fractional horsepower motor to drive it. A further object is to insure a low cost production of the flakes, with a high efliciency in the overall operation.

A still further object of the invention is to give a direct feed of the ice flakes from the water tank into and out of a chute.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means for draining water from the ice after it leaves the water tank and on its way to discharging from the delivery chute. i e

The machine may be intermittently operated by a man ual control, or it may be automatically operated by the' ice reaching a predetermined level in a storage bin.

One particularform of the invention is described in reference to the accompanying drawings in which I FIG. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a structure embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view on a slightly enlarged scalein top plan and with a fragmentary portion of the top cover removed.

FIG. 3 is a view in vertical section on the line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section on the line 44 on a still further enlarged scale;

FIG. 5 is a detail in transverse section on the line 5-5 in FIG. 4; and V a FIG. 6 is a wiring diagram of the controlling units.

An inverted U-shaped bracket 10 is secured to any suitable base 11, and on the top plate 12 of this bracket 10 is fixed a water tank 13, being closed by a floor 14 across its bottom; having a cylindrical wall 15 extending from the bottom 14; and being-open at its'top 16. The tank 13 while generally cylindrical as above indicated, has a portion of its wall for approximately ninety degrees, ,and herein shown as extending from apoint A to a point Q the gasket 27.

3,159,916 Fatented Dec. 1, 1964 B, extending in the nature of a helix to merge into a side wall 18 of an upwardly inclined chute 19, the floor 20 of which starts by its lower end at the floor 14 of the tank 13 which extends upwardly by a floor 20 from the bottom 14 of the tank 13 and extends to an end portion 21 which is above the top of the tank 13. The angle of the floor 20 preferably ranges from thirty to forty-five degrees from the horizontal.

The side of the chute 19 opposite the side 18, designated by the numeral 22, is joined to the cylindrical wall of the tank 13 at the zone 23 and extends upwardly and flares slightly outwardly and away from the chute wall 13. The wall 13 upon leaving the zone B likewise flares outwardly and away from the opposite side 22 so that the upper end of the chute 19 has a larger cross-sectional area than does the lower end adjacent the tank 13. It is to be understood that the tank 13 opens into the flared out or spiral area between the zones A and B and continues to be open until the zone 23 is reached.

The wall 22 of the chute 19 leaves the cylindrical wall 15 of the tank 13 at the zone 23 which is in a vertical line located in a vertical plane intersecting at right angles the central vertical plane including the zone B. This intersection is adjacent to, but slightly spaced from the side of a refrigerating cylinder 24, now to be described.

The cylinder 24 comprises an insulating floor 25 preferably made out of a plastic which not only has good heat insulating characteristics, but also is capable of supplying a good bearing surface for a rotating body. This floor 25 has a shoulder 26 therearound, and an annular gasket 27 surrounds this shoulder. A metallic cylindrical wall 29 preferably made out of a high heat conductive metal has an inturned annular flange 23 which rests on At the top end of the wall of the cylinder 24, this wall being designated by the numeral 29, there is an inturned annular flange 30 on top of which is a gasket 31 surrounding a shoulder 32 of a cylinder head 33. This head 33 is likewise made out of a material somewhat similar to that used in the floor 25. I

Within the cylinder 24, there is located a continuous tubing 34 fixed to the inner side of the wall 29. There is a refrigerant inlet vertical riser 35 entering through the floor 25 and joining into the top end of the coil 34. The lower end of the coil 34 is connected with a return tube 36 likewise extending through the floor 25. The wall 29 is sealably clamped between the floor 25 and the head 33 by means of through bolts 37 passing upwardly through the member 12 of the bracket 10, the floor 25, and screw-threadedly entering the head 33 all as is indicated in FIG. 4. In this way, the wall 29 is sealed top and bottom so as to prevent any liquid entering therein. The floor 25 rests on the floor 14 of the tank 13 in turn resting on the bracket member 12 and is fixed thereto in a position wherein the wall 29 is concentric with the Wall 15 of the tank 13. That is, the cylinder 24 is concentrically mounted in reference to the cylindrical portion of the tank 13. The drive motor 38 is suspended by means of an auxfliary bracket 39 from the member 12 of the bracket 10, this auxiliary bracket 39 being in reality a downwardly extending, U-shaped portion of the member 12 as indicated in FIG. 4.

A motor driven shaft 41 herein shown as tubular, ex-

. tends axially of the water tank 13 and of the cylinder driven thereby, this connection being herein shown as a pin 44 passing through the member 43 and the tube 41. The head 33 carries a boss 45 upon which the underside of the member 43 immediately surrounding the tube 41 rests as it is rotated by the tube 471.

The member 43 is essentially an arm spaced slightly above the head 33 which extends outwardly sufficiently far to carrya downturned bar 46. This bar may be re- 7 movably connected to the member 43, but is preferably integral therewith as is herein shown. This bar 46 extends downwardly between the inside of the wall 15 and the outside of the wall 29 of the cylinder 24 to be in parallelism with the axis of the tube 41. It may take a number of cross-sectional shapes, and is herein shown as having a cross-sectional shape trapezoid in nature wherein there are the two parallel sides 46a and 46b with the bar being disposed to have the inclined face 460 adjacent to the wall 29, this being the face which is nonparallel with the outer face 46d. The member 43 is fixed to the tube 41 by an offset hub 47, FIG. 2, so that the face 46b of the bar 46 is substantially in a radial plane through the axis of rotation of the tube 41. This positioning of the bar 46 provides for a clearance angle 48, FIG. 5, between it and the circumferential face of the wall 29. The line 49 between the faces 46b and 46c which may be termed the leading edge, is in the one form herein shown approximately .010 inch from the cylinder wall 29 and this edge can range from a sharp acute corner to having a radius of .015 inch. Thicker ice will be obtained by increasing the spacing of the leading edge 49 from the surface of the cylinder wall 29. This clearance angle 48 which would normally be termed a back rake angle is approximately ten degrees. The corner 50 of the bar 46 is provided with sufiicient clearance that it does not rub on the inner side of the wall 15, but has a slight clearance therebetween. It is intended that the bar 46 be revolved around the cylinder 24 in the direction of the arrow FIG. 5. I

A cover is provided between the head 33 and the wall' lS of the tank 13. In the form herein shown, this cover is designated by the numeral 51 and consists of an annular sheet of metal fixed to the member 43 by up turned oppositeends 52 and 53 to extend entirely around the space between the head 33 and the wall 15. The cover 51 is provided with a clearance as between its outer and'inner edges so that it may be revolved freely therebetween, To complete the closure in effect, the outward flaring portion of the tank 13 has the top cover 54 extending inwardly and substantially coplanar with the cover 51, but with a clearance therebetween to permit travel therepast of the cover 51. This cover portion 54 merges into the cover 55 of the chute 19.

The tank 56 is mounted on the bracket 14 herein shown as being supported by the member 12, and is located to one side of the tank 13. This tank 56 receives Water from any potable source through a pipe '7, and a float 58 operating a valve member 59 in the line 57 automatically maintains a fixed level of water in the tank 56. A pipeline 66 extends from the bottom of the tank 56 and communicates with the bottom of the tank 13 opening to the floor 14, preferably at one side thereof such as in the annular space between the wall 15 of the tank 13 and the cylinder wall 29, FIG. 4. The float 58 is so set that a water level 61 is maintained in the tank 13 substantially at the top of the wall 29 as indicated in FIG. 4.

The tubes 35 and 36 are interconnected suitably with a compressor 62 diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 6. The compressor 62 is the usual one embodied in a refrigerating device wherein the compressor takes the expanded refrigerant from the tube 36, compresses it and delivers it to the condenser 63, cools by a fan 64 to liquefy the high pressure vapor coming from the compressor. By means of an expansion device (not shown) well known to those versed in the refrigerating art, the liquid is fed chute 19.

through the tube 25 into the coil 34 where it is vaporized, extracting heat from the cylinder wall 29, cooling that wall to below the freezing point of water. In the present instance, a temperature of around twenty degrees Fahrenheit is sufiiciently low for satisfactory operation.

As above indicated, the chute 19 may discharge into a suitable bin 65, FIG. 1. If the system is to be operated automatically, that bin 65 will be receiving ice flakes indicated by the numeral 66 continuously until the ice flakes build up in the bin sufiiciently high to open a switch 67 by the ice pressing thereagainst. For this automatic action, reference is made to FIG. 6, wherein current is supplied from the line 68 through a manual control switch 69 to have one lead 70 connected with the switch 67 in series with the drive motor 38 and back to lead 71 to the switch 69. Also this circuit includes in parallel with the motor 38 the circuit consisting of the wires 72 leading from the switch 67 around to the compressor 62 and by another line '73 to the fan motor 64 and thence through the wire 75 back through the wire 77 to the return wire 71. Thus the switch 67 controls the operation not only of the motor 38 but also of the compressor 62 and the condenser fan motor 64.

Operation The motor 38 is preferably of the gear reduction type so that a small fractional horsepower motor may be employed, particularly in view of the fact that the tube 41 is desired to rotate at a speed of approximately one and one-half revolutions'per minute. In the initial starting of the operation, the switches 67 and 69 are closed so the compressor motor 62 is set into operation as well as t e fan motor 64 to supply the refrigerant to the coil 34. Assuming that there is water in the tank 13, ice will begin to form around the outside of the wall 29 on the cylinder :54, the thickness of the icebeing indicated by the numeral 78, FIG. 4. .The motor 38 is turning the cutter bar 46, and the corner 49 coming into contact with the ice 7% causes it to chip off entirely to the wall surface and be carried by the water where the chips will tend to float to the top level 61 thereof, as indicated in FIG. 1. Ice will start to form immediately behind the moving bar 46 so that by the time it comes around for a complete revolution, the ice will be sufficiently thick to. be removed. The thickness of the ice may be controlled not only by the speed of travel of the, bar 46, but also by the temperature maintained on the wall 29.

A peculiar action takesplace as the bar 46 moves in the direction of the arrow, FIG. 5, that is around toward the Ice which is chipped off of the wall 29 is carried around ahead of the bar 46 between the tank Wall 15 and the cylinder wall 29. It is to be noted that by reason of the slow travel of the bar 46, there is not any appreciable centrifugal force set up to convey the ice flakes to the outer side of the space and adjacent the wall 15. The ice does feed out into thezone of the wall which flares out between the lines A and B, but at the same time comes around substantially tangential on the inner side of this space to the wall of the cylinder 24 and enters the chute 19 to travel the floor 20. Since the, bar 46 must leave its ice which it has carried around in front of it at the vertical line 23 and then again enter into the constant radial spacing between the walls 15 and 29, it would seem that some of the ice would be carried around into that space past the line 23, but that is not true, since in actual practice, the ice flakes behave in their travel ,as supported by the water in the tank 13as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2 where the flakes leave the wall 29 on a substantially tangential line and seem to be forced intothe chute 19 and will actually travel thereup. As the bar 46 travels, this will be an intermittent travel up the chute 19, a result that the ice flakes resting on the floor 26 above the water level 61 which extends outwardly into the chute 19 will permit draining back'of the water carried along with the flakes as they leave that water level 61, with a result that practically no water is carried on up into the bin 65. Thus not only does the bar 46 remove the ice 78 from the cylinder wall 29, but it also carries the removed ice around to the entrance into the chute 19 and causes it to travel thereup intermittently with a sufficient time to permit drainage of the waterfrom those lifted flakes before the flakes fall into the storage bin 65.

Thus without any additional operative mechanism, the ice is not only directly removed from the freezer cylinder Wall but is also conveyed around as it floats in the water to the chute and is caused to travel up the chute to be slightly compressed and to drain and finally to be dumped away from the chute end.

The speed of one and one-half revolutions per minute is in accordance with a cylinder four inches in diameter and three inches in height. Now this size will make a considerable amount of ice in twenty-four hours, but it is to be noted that the speed of course for larger sizes of cylinders will be adjusted in order that the surface speed in any of the sizes will remain substantially that as set up by the one and one-half revolutions per minute using a four inch diameter drum.

In further reference to the unique action of the flake ice being caused to travel up the chute 19, for the size of machine just indicated, the clearance between the bar and the maximum extent of the spiraled section of the wall of the tank 13 is three-eighths of one inch for the dimensions above given. Without this clearance, ice will not go up the chute. Also the clearance between the bar 46 and the cylindrical part of the circumferential length of the tank 13 is provided with a minimum amount of water in the tank and may range from approximately one-sixteenth to three-eighths of an inch.

In addition to the function of the cover 51 to serve somewhat as an insulator between the tank water and the ambient atmosphere, an important use of this member as well as of the member 54 is to prevent the ice flakes 66 from having a tendency to spill over the top edge of the tank wall and primarily at the chute 19 inlet.

As indicated in FIG. 4, the overall height of the cutting edge 49 of the bar 46 is coextensive with the height of the cylinder wall 29, and the gaskets 27 and 31 are sufliciently narrow as to be out of contact with the cutter bar 46, should it for any reason extend either above or below that wall height. On the other hand, by maintaining the proper diameters of the bottom floor 2 5 and the header 33, the bar 46 may extend by its edge 49 both above and below the metallic wall 29 as indicated in FIG. 4. This will take care of any possible accumulation of ice immediately at those floor and head member junctions with the wall 29, although they may be separated by the intervening sealing gaskets.

While I have herein described and illustrated my invention in the one particular form, it is obvious that structural variations may be employed such, for example, as in the formation of the sealed cylinder 24, and particularly in the bar 46, and I therefore do not desire to be limited to that precise form nor to any of the specific dimensions set forth, beyond the limitations required by the following claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with an annular water chamber having cylindrical inner and outer side walls; 7

means maintaining a predetermined water level between said Walls;

means refrigerating said inner wall to a temperature below freezing and causing water to freeze as a film on and around said inner wall;

a bar extending substantially vertically within said chamber, having a length at least equal to the height of ice formed on said inner wall;

means moving said bar to travel around said chamber;

said bar having a leading face approximately equal to the radial width of said chamber without rubbing on either wall thereof;

said bar having at least a portion thereof adjacent said inner wall presenting a face radially of said chamber for chipping ice from said inner wall; chipped oif ice being free to float to a top zone of said chamber;

an ice discharge chute; comprising an inclined floor and side walls leading diagonally upwardly in said chamber from below the water level to an upper zone of the chamber;

one of said chute side walls being approximately tangential to said chamber outer wall;

the other chute side wall leaving said chamber outer wall a distance from said tangential wall defining therebetween an ice entering opening below said water level to the top of said level, to said floor and between said chute walls; and

said bar travel in said chamber moving the chipped-01f ice toward said opening to float over said floor with succeeding ice pushing the initial ice up the chute.

2. The structure of claim 1, in which said chute leads from the bottom of said chamber.

3. The structure of claim 2, in which the floor of said chute extends at an angle to the horizontal within the approximate range of thirty to forty-five degrees.

4. The structure of claim 1 in which said chute other wall intersects said chamber outer wall circumferentially therearound from the chute tangenial side in an approximately vertical line, past which line said bar travels.

5. In a flake ice maker, the combination with an annular water chamber having a bottom and an outer cylindrical wall and an inner cylindrical wall;

means for maintaining a predetermined water level between. said walls;

means refrigerating one of said walls producing a layer of ice thereon;

a bar extending substantially vertically within said chamber and having a length at least equal to the height of said ice;

said bar having a leading face with vertical sides conforming to said inner and outer walls approximately equal to the radial width between said walls;

opposing sides of said inner and outer walls being defined by straight lines of substantially vertical elements;

means moving the bar around said chamber to chip ice oif of the refrigerated wall; of

a chute leading from said chamber approximately tangential to said walls;

said chute having a floor and side Walls extending dia onally upwardly and outwardly from the level of the bottom of the ice formed on said one wall.

6. In a flake ice maker, the combination with an annular water chamber having a fixed bottomand an outer cylindrical wall and an inner cylindrical wall, both walls being vertical in fixed in position;

means refrigerating one of said walls producing a layer of ice thereon;

a bar in said chamber extending approximately entirely across the chamber;

means moving said bar to travel around said chamber;

a chute leading from said chamber approximately tangentially of said walls;

said chute having a floor with a width approximately that of the radial Width of said chamber and having sidewalls extending diagonally upwardly and outwardly from the level of the bottom of the ice formed on said one wall;

one of said chute walls is tangential to the chamber outer wall; and

the other chute wall intersects the chamber outer wall on a vertical line in that wall and extends upwardly from the chute floor c-ircumferentially around the 7 outer wall from the. line ofi tangency of said one wall, defining an opening through the outer wall into said chute throughout approximately the height of said chamber held- Water.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,064,655 12/36 Geyer 62-344 2,150,792 3/39 Willa-t ,62-3,5.4

Lees 62-354 X Taylor 62354 Davis -2 62354 Schneider 62-4554 Larson et a1. 62-354 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany.

ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner. 

1. THE COMBINATION WITH AN ANNULAR WATER CHAMBER HAVING CYLINDRICAL INNER AND OUTER SIDE WALLS; MEANS MAINTAINING A PREDETERMINED WATER LEVEL BETWEEN SAID WALLS; MEANS REFRIGERATING SAID INNER WALL TO A TEMPERATURE BELOW FREEZING AND CAUSING WATER TO FREEZE AS A FILM ON AND AROUND SAID INNER WALL; A BAR EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY WITHIN SAID CHAMBER, HAVING A LENGTH AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE HEIGHT OF ICE FORMED ON SAID INNER WALL; MEANS MOVING SAID BAR TO TRAVEL AROUND SAID CHAMBER; SAID BAR HAVING A LEADING FACE APPROXIMATELY EQUAL TO THE RADIAL WIDTH OF SAID CHAMBER WITHOUT RUBBING ON EITHER WALL THEREOF; SAID BAR HAVING AT LEAST A PORTION THEREOF ADJACENT SAID INNER WALL PRESENTING A FACE RADIALLY OF SAID CHAMBER FOR CHIPPING ICE FROM SAID INNER WALL; CHIPPED OFF ICE BEING FREE TO FLOAT TO A TOP ZONE OF SAID CHAMBER; AN ICE DISCHARGE CHUTE; COMPRISING AN INCLINED FLOOR AND SIDE WALLS LEADING DIAGONALLY UPWARDLY IN SAID CHAMBER FROM BELOW THE WATER LEVEL TO AN UPPER ZONE OF THE CHAMBER; ONE OF SAID CHUTE SIDE WALLS BEING APPROXIMATELY TANGENTIAL TO SAID CHAMBER OUTER WALL; THE OTHER CHUTE SIDE WALL LEAVING SAID CHAMBER OUTER WALL A DISTANCE FROM SAID TANGENTIAL WALL DEFINING THEREBETWEEN AN ICE ENTERING OPENING BELOW SAID WATER LEVEL TO THE TOP OF SAID LEVEL, TO SAID FLOOR AND BETWEEN SAID CHUTE WALLS; AND SAID BAR TRAVEL IN SAID CHAMBER MOVING THE CHIPPED-OFF ICE TOWARD SAID OPENING TO FLOAT OVER SAID FLOOR WITH SUCCEEDING ICE PUSHING THE INITIAL ICE UP THE CHUTE. 